Uukwiyuushona constituency councillor Andreas Amundjindi says councillors are hard-working civil servants, yet approving their leave is a lengthy and complicated process.
He says this applies to urgent applications for leave too.
Amundjindi raised the issue during the regional council’s first ordinary council meeting on Tuesday.
He said the leave approval process needs to be reviewed by minister of urban and rural development James Sankwasa.
Amundjindi said the approval process requires requests to move through several levels, including the human resource office and the chief regional officer, before it reaches the minister’s office.
He said councillors often work overtime and are frequently on call, making their work different to that of other public servants or politicians in the government.
“Councillors work 24/7, even at midnight, compared to any other staff member or politician in government. The councillor can work on Sunday and can be woken up by somebody saying ‘please take this, do this’, and now we are treated equally.
“You cannot say, ‘I’m on leave, you cannot call me or send me to this.’ A platform is needed with the executive director and the minister so we can figure out these things,” Amundjindi said.
He said councillors have become vulnerable, noting that their salaries have effectively turned into ‘social grants’.
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